They have a vision!

When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created their first Apple computers, they imagined that there would be an Apple computer in every home. That was an audacious picture of a future vision! Their mission, thereafter, was to make that vision a reality. Bill Gates envisioned Microsoft dominating the world market. Microsoft continues to make that vision real.

A compelling vision is a powerful focal point to inspire efforts within an organization. A vision depicts a desired future for the organization. It becomes the super goal toward which the organization works as it carries out its mission. It is about what one wants to become, a lofty destination.

Successful leaders have a picture of a desired future – a vision – that they share with their employees. They use it to engage and to add meaning to daily work. While having a vision can be a powerful tool to inspire extraordinary effort, it can also be a hollow statement if it is not shared with employees and, especially, if not acted on.

Make It Real

The balance of this article describes how to convert a vision to tangible actions for the organization’s personnel that becomes meaningful for the organization.

Imagine a customer reading the following vision tagline from a Website: "to be the first called when a business needs help." The first thing that may come to the customer’s mind might be that this company (First Call) is a capable one, has good people, and knows much about their areas. They must have breadth of knowledge and experiences, they must be smart and intelligent, and they are a confident firm. Being the first called also suggests that they may be a leader in their field with best practice capabilities.

What might the customer expect in a visit to First Call? The expectation might be that the personnel will be friendly, confident, informative, and responsive. The activity in the office will exude energy and imply a successful, quality oriented, customer centric business. The impression might be that this business has well defined processes, clear methods, and customer tested approaches.

What might the customer expect of First Call’s products and services? One might not be surprised to find that they are the best of class and of fair value. What about the governance and structure of such a stellar organization? There would be little doubt a visitor might expect the structure to support performance excellence, that there is recognition and rewards for a job well done.

Steps to Translate the Vision

The questions inherent in the above example are presented here together with commentary on this unique approach to make a vision real for everyone in an organization.

Impression? Before ever setting foot into First Call’s offices, one develops impressions about the organization by what it presents in written or visual form. Imagine oneself as the customer and see what impression derives from the same vision. Depending on one’s point of view, the impression will differ. Nevertheless, this impression sets the stage for what else to expect.

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